The EU will approve a partnership agreement with Mercosur.

       According to a report by EFE on January 9th, EU member states have initially supported the signing of a partnership agreement with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). It is expected that the EU Council will officially approve it at 5 p.m. local time on January 9th. Although France and Hungary clearly oppose it and Belgium abstains, the supporters have reached the legally required qualified majority (55% of the countries representing 65% of the EU's population). After the agreement is signed, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will sign on behalf of the EU, and then the European Parliament will vote on it. The agreement includes safeguard mechanisms for sensitive agricultural products such as chicken, beef, and citrus. If the import volume increases by more than 5% year-on-year or the import price is 5% lower than that of similar European products, the EU will launch an investigation and may suspend tariff preferences. The agreement can come into temporary effect after approval by any Mercosur country and will replace the temporary implementation provisions after formal approval by all EU member states. (Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Chile)